Hello everyone Im sort of stuck in a hole here. I've searched the forums and read up about this issue on the 3rd to 4th gear grind but everyone experience's this problem at a lower rpm than I do.

Heres the story, I just bought the car in the first week of may its a 2005 GT with 38k miles, its still under bumper to bumper factory warranty. I finally got on a road where there was little to no cars and was able to go through the gears at 8500rpms. 1st, 2nd are good. When I try to shift from 3rd to 4th at 8500 rpms the gear grinds and doesnt let me shift into 4th untill 6800rpms.

I took the car to the dealer after reading about this issue on the forums here and found it could be problems with the syncro's or the trans itself. I dropped the car off this past wednesday to have the dealer take a look at it. They told me they have never herd of this issue before, which kind of left me with a "?" over my head after reading that this issue has affected so many people on this forum. I also told them the trans makes a load whinny noise with the clutch disengaged while in neutral and going into reverse takes at least two tries in order to get into gear or I go into 6th. They said they would take a look at it and call me with whats going on. Today they had their regional mazda rep come in and they talked it over with him. He told the service manager that they can not test the car because 3rd gear at 8500 is over highway speeds. The rep also told them to add in new trans fluid and that will stop this issue. By reading on the forums here that only stalls the issue for 3 months max and then the issue comes back again.

Well I only have 3 months left in my bumper to bumper so it seems like that rep is just trying to save mazda money by not dealing with the problem and skipping over it. The service guy that I have been dealing with is also questioning what this rep is talking about but he can not go against of what his manager told him to test the car for me. So the only way is to tear down the trans and take a look inside to see if there is anything wrong. The service guy told me that there is a chance Mazda could identify the problem as "negligence" and not warranty the repair and I would get forked with the bill.

My main question here is (sorry for the massive book im writing) should I have them tear down the trans and take a look at it to see if there is a problem? Would there be a good chance of Mazda covering under factory warranty? The service guy told me its a 8 hour job to take the trans out at $110 and hour. Worst case senerio if i have them take out the trans find something wrong but Mazda wont cover the warranty I'm stuck with a rebuild or a buying a brand new trans out of pocket. I would already be between $2500-3000 in labor just to take out the trans, fix it, then put it back in the car excluding parts needed.

Anyway I appologize again for the long read I am just worried here and only had the car for little over the month and havent had a great chance of using it in all of its glory yet.

So what the hell should I do? :confused:

Thanks

I'd try to play hardball. Insist they fix the transmission problem. Their highway speed argument is a ruse, IMO. Put in the transmission fluid you buy from them - go for it. When it doesn't fix the problem, take it back.

I know the highway speed is complete BS. I even said let me take your tech out with me driving the car and I will prove to him there is a problem. Since at those speeds there is a chance for a ticket it would be on me and not your tech nor related to the dealer. The service manager told me "No we can not do that its against our policy and its risking the life of our employee's" Only way for them to see if there is a problem is to look inside of the trans itself.

05s are still covered b2b?

Yeah 4 years/50k miles from purchase date. The car was purchased Sept 28th, 2005.

bump

*Update* I went ahead and did the transmission flush and added in new fluid. The gear box feels a lot smoother but the problem is still there. I had the dealer empty the fluid into a bottle for me so I can see if there was an good amount of metal shavings. The fluid is full of metal flakes and pretty nasty looking too. So how should I go about this issue?

Thanks for the heads up. I'm having the same issue, and the original purchase date of my car was 10-2-05. Looks like I'll be getting a new tranny.

No problem. Any experienced gals/gents out there that went through the same issue have any pointers in dealing with Mazda warranty want to chime in?

Tell them to do a diode check on the transmission. You don't have to recreate the issue to know something is wrong in this day and age.

No problem. Any experienced gals/gents out there that went through the same issue have any pointers in dealing with Mazda warranty want to chime in?

Yeah my tranny was so bad though, when I dropped it off at the dealer, they were like, how the heck did you even drive it 90mi to get it here and said it wouldn't go into gear and replaced it on the spot.

You can try another dealer perhaps (probably the best plan), and you can also write corporate and they help sometimes.

How strong does it grind btw?

In the mean time try double clutching and some rev matching on downshifts.

It wouldn't be hard to fix it yourself if it came to that too.

They told me the only way to check if there is something wrong with the transmission is to remove it completly and look inside to check the syncros and gears. And they want to charge me $900 if not covered under warranty to do so. And there could be a chance that the Mazda District Manager could deny the warranty work due to "abuse". I'm very confused on which route should I take. At this point from what i've herd mazda likes to deny warranty work to sleep better at night. And I could get shafted with the bill. It only grinds above 6800 rps in 3rd going to 4th and wont let me shift into 4th untill it drops to 6k rpms. Only happens up shifting.

Another update* I just received word from the service manager about my issue. He talked it over with his Mazda Rep and they told him it would be covered under warranty only if it was a Manufacture defect.

They havent gone ahead and ripped apart the tranny to identify the problem as their waiting on my response because I ultimately could be denied warranty work due to abuse and be forked with the bill.

Since I've read almost all 3rd to 4th gear grinding releated issues and so it seems to be an actuall defect with the 05 models at least.

My main concern is if I tell them to tear apart the tranny and they find something wrong with the syncros or forks what kind of chance am I looking at for getting every completed under warranty?

I just dont have $900 right now incase warranty work will be denied and I'm still stuck with the same issue and out of money.

Should I go for it or just deal with the problem for the life of the car?

The abuse issue is BS, sounds like a shady dealer to me. We (and mazda) know of the issues with this stock trans these past years.

So I should be good to get the warranty work done.

Once the dealer opens up the trans and takes a look at the issue.

Because obviously Mazda know's of this problem and has been for years.

I am just trying to be smart about this so I don't have to pay a dime for this problem.

So I should be good to get the warranty work done.

Once the dealer opens up the trans and takes a look at the issue.

Because obviously Mazda know's of this problem and has been for years.

I am just trying to be smart about this so I don't have to pay a dime for this problem.

I think "being smart" about it is more along the lines of how well you argue your point. This issue happened to some people here and they had to argue their case to the dealer several times. If all you did was normal driving on the trans then there's no way you caused the abuse, the tranny was faulty to start.

I just purchased the car used earlier last month and I have only been driving it normally except for a couple times I've taken it up to high rpm in 3rd gear. I havent raced this car or "speed shifted" through all the gears.

But I told the dealer that I just purchased this vehicle and I dont have any service records or information about the previous owner. The dealer told me I could now be in a hole being 2nd owner of this car and its a lot harder to persuade Mazda that this car was not "abused". I'm thinking BS but really the only other Mazda dealer around my area is about 2 hours away.

wow, more like an engineering defect, imo

Well my $900 quote was only to remove and inspect the trans. Now it turned into $1800 to put it back into the car to at least have it functional.

I have a feeling the dealer is trying to bully me around with high price quotes for not wanting to deal with the problem.

I cant believe I'm having this much of a problem dealing with this god damn dealer with the car still under factory bumper to bumper warranty and even the powertrain warranty is still good for another year and 3 months.

Find another dealer, ASAP my friend. They're trying to fuck you. Check the reviews on good Mazda dealers in your area. My dealer did a diode check om my 05 8, and determined the problem. They don't have to rip the tranny out to know it. They just don't want to take the loss on the warranty work time.

thanks pking. The nearest dealer to me is about 2 hours away. Whats does the diode check consists of in checking the tranny? I could tell the dealer I'm working with now to do a diode check and see what their results are. Also could it be something with the clutch as in not disengaging all the way when attempting to shift in high rpms at that speed?

They are clearly taking advantage of you, do not pay them a dime. Call another dealer (regardless if they are 2 hours away, 2 hours is worth $1800 in my opinion) and schedule for a new transmission.

What is the name of this dealer? And what is there email address? phone number?

The name of the dealer is Fitzgerald Mazda of Annapolis. email is service@fitzmall.com and phone number 410-266-2486

They are clearly taking advantage of you, do not pay them a dime. Call another dealer (regardless if they are 2 hours away, 2 hours is worth $1800 in my opinion) and schedule for a new transmission.

What is the name of this dealer? And what is there email address? phone number?


Done. Taking it to Rosenthal Mazda of Arlington I talked to the service manager he said he will take care of this issue for me and that wont be a problem. Everything will be taken care under warranty. I also informed him of the problem I had with the dealer by my house he said the 16 hours to do a trans pull out, inspect, and put back in is unherd of. As the total time written on the Mazda manual is 4.9 hours to do everything.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out with this stressful issue!

Great news, Adam! :icon_tup: There are a lot of shady dealers out there. Glad you found a rep with some decency.

you need to report that previous dealer as well. Falsifying the amount of time it will take by almost 4 times is total BS. They need to be slapped by corporate.

Oh I am. I'm reporting this dealer to Mazda Corporate, the States Attorney's office, and Better Business Buearu. The service manager profiled me for being young and accused me of "abuse". Even though I just bought it and only put on about 700 miles since I got it. I also bought the car 120 miles away from my house.

He wanted me to sign papers stating I will pay for full work if the warranty was denied. 16 hours of labor @ $110 an hour... I confronted him and said receiving word from a very high reputable dealer the average billable hours spent working dropping the trans, rebuilding, and putting back in is 4.9 hours. Where the hell does your 16 hour job come from and that only involves inspecting the transmission. He stuttered for a good 10 seconds. I said don't even bother answering your obviously lying. Give me my key I'm leaving. He said I'll have someone drop it off at front for you. I was like NO your not touching my car.

I parted with the comment of Mazda Corporate, SAO, and BBB will be hearing about this scam and profilling.

Good work

The name of the dealer is Fitzgerald Mazda of Annapolis. email is service@fitzmall.com and phone number 410-266-2486

It crossed my mind you were speaking of Preston Automotive Group here on the 'Shore, but it doesn't make me feel any better that it was Fitz. No, I'm not happy with PAG by any means.

Good luck with Rosenthal, they seem to be one of the few "White Hats" among dealers in the Mid-Atlantic region (Wayne Mazda in New Jersey comes to mind as well).